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My slice of heaven

Went for a camping weekend at my place in NC.
Brought a buddy who insisted on using a tent that he received as a gift.

We stayed down by one of the creeks on my property.

The first afternoon

It got down to 30° that night. I didn't use a pad, but deployed my Hudson River.

The next morning:

Then we headed out for a hike.
We walked up over my eastern ridgeline and over to a forgotten road. That road leads out to an abandoned boys camp in the national forest (right off the Appalachian Trail, near Sam's Gap).

The disappearing pond at the camp

The main structures

out-houses

The only remaining bunk-house

The only inhabitant we encountered

An odd DIY tent structure (or sweat lodge)

Then we hiked back along the Appalachian Trail from Sam's Gap to this point:

not crazy about the snake but the views were superb!!! How did your friend fair in is tent? Your setup with that ridge line looks nice.

I don't think the snake was too crazy about us!

We just moved the little guy from the middle of the trail to a place off to the side.

My buddy did alright in his gigantic tent. Luckily he brought lots of extra clothes to layer up in with his old-school,flannel-lined, rectangular sleeping bag. I let him borrow one of my BigAgnes pads so that he didn't have to lug his giant air-mattress along.

I had hoped to do some hiking to get to a campsite . . . . but when I saw the gear my friend brought . . . I decided to pick that spot close to my workshop.

I had hoped to do some hiking to get to a campsite . . . . but when I saw the gear my friend brought . . . I decided to pick that spot close to my workshop.

I teach the backpacking merit badge to my scout troop and one of my first camping/hiking/backpacking trips, I had a kid show up with a football sized, alluminum wrapped (must have been the entire roll) pork ribs that he was planning on cooking that night!!!. Another trip, I had a kid show up with two brand new rolls of alluminum foil (what is it with these kids and foil???!!!) He was planning on making "hobo meals" that night and wanted to have enough foil wrappings. Had a kid pack a shovel !!! One had a first aid kit that an ambulance would have been proud to own. Sleeping bags bigger than my whole pack. Tents, well I named one "the lodge" !!! And snacks... I can tell them and tell them to keep the food & snacks out of their tents, but there's nothing like a raccoon scratching on the sides during the night, to really bring the point home!! The boys are getting better at reducing their pack weight now due to them having to lug in and then lug out all that stuff they thought they needed!!